Second Chance
by Daddyslilmonster97
Summary: A notorious thief finds herself in New York City when a mysterious client contacts her to steal a necklace from a local museum. When four mutant turtles stop her, she’s set on getting revenge. However, when they save her from a near death experience, she decides that maybe they aren’t so bad after all.
1. Introduction

Beige colored walls were lined with random shadows, multiple men standing in a large room, their feet clicking against the marble floor. They were nervous- unsure of what was to come. Their boss was a small woman, but she held as much rage as her late father, their previous boss. She had a way of being just as ruthless, if not more, and it sent a chill down each and every one of their spines anytime they were called to her office.

"Again!"

Her shrill voice caused them to flinch, shrinking back slightly out of pure fear. The woman held a perfectly sharpened katana at her side, however her skill with the blade is what made it so lethal. Instead of using it on her ninja, though, her rage had her bring it down upon her desk, the wood splitting with a sickening crack, her almost black eyes dancing with fury.

"This is the third time this month!" She bellowed, her voice shaking. "No matter what we do, they find a way to stick their noses- or lack their of- in our damn business! I thought after that shit with the monsters Leonardo would leave us alone- I was wrong!"

She was quiet and still for a moment, gathering her thoughts, before letting out a defeated sigh and closing her eyes, then sheathing her blade. Her eyes then snapped back open, staring directly at her assistants.

"Very well. He wants to play dirty- so can I. I'm going to destroy them form the inside out, without even laying a blade on them. All I need for you to do, is find me someone capable of that. I need someone delicate, a female, who they will feel the need to protect. But I also need her to be skilled, and not soft hearted." She paused, watching as they simply stared at her in confusion, waiting for their master to explain. Instead, her impatience caused her to narrow her eyes, the fury quickly returning.

"Go!"


	2. Chapter 1

_"Oh no, I can't slow down, I can't hold back_

_Though you know, I wish I could_

_Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked_

_Until we close our eyes for good."_

_\- Cage the Elephant _

It was just past three in the morning, and a lonely redhead sat at the back of a train cart, a dark hood covering most of her face, her head rested against the rattling window pane. Normally she would've had a hard time sleeping this way, but it was her third day being awake, and she had been fighting her exhaustion for too long.

She had gotten a phone call earlier that morning from a strange man, who wouldn't even give his name, asking to meet in New York City. The only information she was given was a time, place, and that it would be worth her time and efforts if she decided to take the job offer. Getting a train ticket hadn't been very difficult, they're cheaper than plane tickets and she had some money stashed away.

In an instant she was startled awake by the loud horn, signaling they were close to their stop. Her heavy green eyes shifted around the cart she was in, only a few other people in there, all of them seeming to have just woken up like her. They had been chatting to each other earlier that afternoon, but of course the anti-social female had decided to keep to herself. She didn't have the time nor patience for small talk. She was here on business- sort of.

The train came to an agonizingly slow halt. She couldn't imagine how slow it would've gone had she not fallen asleep. The redhead had always hated being confined to small spaces, and this train cart was really starting to make her toes itch for relief to leave. As soon as they called for exit, she shot to her feet, grabbing her duffel bag and practically running off the train. In all honesty she had never been to New York City before, even though she had done plenty of traveling. However, the city was absolutely nothing like what she expected, or what she had seen on tv.

The streets were crowded, even in the middle of the night. The smell that lingered in the air was a mix of what seemed like rotten garbage and car exhaust. She had spent a good portion of her life in Texas and Georgia, so the busy city life was definitely a step out of her comfort zone. However, she had less than an hour to get to where she needed to be, so window shopping was out of the question.

Her normal source of comfort in situations like these would be to gaze up at the night sky, letting the twinkling of the stars wash over her, reminding her of home. However, not a single star could be seen. Just a dull grey-blue haze that masked everything else. Her berry-tinted lips turned down into a disapproving frown. The sooner she could get away from this city, the better.

It took a little over fifteen minute to find the intersection she had been instructed to, an empty alleyway just across the street. The entire situation had seemed a little fishy from the beginning, so of course she had come prepared to defend herself if the need arose. Stepping onto the asphalt, she crossed the street with haste, her steps lively and light. Shadows them surrounded her as she stepped between the two buildings, an uneasy feeling washing over her.

Her pale hands gripped the strap to her duffel back nervously, her palms becoming a little sweaty. What if this had been nothing but a set up? There were plenty of people who wanted her head on a silver platter, and with each shaking step, she began to feel more and more like she should've just turned this offer down.

In less than a second a shadow appeared in front of her, or what seemed like a shadow. It had a small sword, something she recognized to be Japanese or Chinese, but the glance she got was too short to tell which it was. Without hesitating she dropped the duffel bag, her hood falling backwards to reveal long waves of vibrant red hair falling around her freckled face like a fiery veil. Her brows furrowed, and she reached into each of her boots to grab her twin blades. Being the type to stab someone and ask questions later, she launched herself forward, dodging at last second from the strangers own blade. She was small- just around 5'3, but that made her alarmingly fast. She dove under his arms, thrusting herself upwards and kicking him backwards, landing on top of him with her blades crisscrossed over his throat.

"Who are you?" She hissed, her eyes wild with fury. It had been a while since she had to take someone's life, but she wasn't in the mood for anyone's shit tonight, since she was already on edge.

Then, the sound of clapping echoed through the alley, causing her to glance around slightly in confusion. 'What the-' Before she could ask, she saw a woman, flanked by two other men, begin to approach them.

"You, my dear, are _exactly_ what I was hoping for."

If she hadn't been confused before, she definitely was now. Shaking her head, realization hit her, and she moved away from the man quickly, but kept her blades in her palms. She stayed low to the ground, eyes narrowed and on her guard. "What was that, some form of a sick test?" She spat the words, suddenly irritated. This must be who she's supposed to meet with, but where was the man she had spoken to over the phone?

"I am the one you spoke with," the strange woman said aloud, as if reading her mind. "Since you decided to come, I will explain a bit further. My name is Karai- I am the leader to a group of ninja called The Foot. There has been word of you spread around, and I was interested to meet you in person- to hear if the rumors were true."

The redhead stood up straight, her grip tightening on her blade in annoyance. "Well, were they?" She asked, truly not caring for the answer, but she decided to seem engaged in the conversation so she could find out what the woman truly wanted. Karai, however, was still sizing the smaller female up. Her brown eyes washed over her, curiosity lighting up in them.

"I would have to say yes. You're quiet. Fast. Lethal."

Green eyes widening, she froze, taking a step back and shaking her head. "Wait, no. I'm not going to kill anyone."

Karai scoffed at her reaction, as if she had expected much more from her. "I don't want you to tell anyone, you misunderstood. There's something I need you to take, steal, that's what you're good at, isn't it?" She raised an eyebrow, hand resting on her hip, and Sarah realized this woman was way too relaxed for her liking. "It's a necklace, from a museum. I'm sure you're wondering why we, as ninja, cannot just go and steal it on our own. The truth is, there's four vigilante's in this city. They're a bit of a nuisance, and they've been fighting us for so many years they know our exact fighting style. I need someone who's skilled at fighting, but not at ninjitsu. I need someone who, when they show up, and they will, can hold her own and simply catch them off guard long enough to escape."

The redhead took in the woman's words, and it all made perfect sense to her truthfully.

"Be warned," Karai added at the end, "you can't beat them in battle. You'll only win if you can distract them. Do _not _engage in prolonged combat, they are very skilled and would take you down in less than a minute."

_We'll see about that,_ Sarah thought to herself. Crossing her arms over her chest, she narrowed her green eyes. "What's in it for me?" She asked casually.

"We'll talk about that when you bring me the sapphire necklace. All I can promise you is that it will be worth your time."

Sarah stood there, staring the woman down, debating all her options. The truth was, she mainly wanted to agree simply because she had wasted her time by coming to this dump of a city to begin with, she might as well make use of it.

"I'm in."

* * *

A few moments later, the redhead disappeared into the night, leaving Karai with the few of her ninja she had brought with her. She smirked to herself, one of her men appearing at her side, gaze focused on the fire escape the girl had disappeared down.

"Forgive me for prodding, sensei, but why do you need the necklace?"

Karai was silent for a moment, debating on if she wanted to even tell him, but she figured implying she had a full proof plan was better than having her men doubt her.

"I don't need the necklace. She's too egotistical, she won't be able to turn down a fight with them. She also has a soft heart- a thief that refuses to kill for money. I don't need her to take the necklace, I simply need her to meet the turtles, then we wait."


	3. Chapter 2

_"Insane inside, the danger gets me high  
Can't help myself, got secrets I cant tell  
I love the smell of gasoline  
I light the match to taste the heat.."_

_-Sam Tinnesz_

A slight mist of light rain had started to come down by the time Sarah had made it to the museum. It was a little past two in the morning, and she had already scouting the building, counting a total of three security guards. She mentally calculated how to take them down, and in which order. She pulled her red hair back, tying it up into a loose bun and pulled her solid black mask on, only showing her eyes. She once again checked the time, heart hammering in her chest.

This was the museum of Natural History, the biggest place she had ever tried to gain entrance into. There was no doubt in her mind it would be riddled with alarms, and that once they went off the police would be here in no time. She had to be extremely careful, and fast. Because according to Karai, the police weren't the only ones that she needed to worry about. Rubbing her gloved hands together to calm her nerves, reminding herself of who she was, and what exactly she could do.

Rising to her feet, she took a deep breath before swinging her rope down the side of the building, tying it to a thick marble pillar attached to the roof, before gripping on and sliding down carefully. Her boots touched the ground without any sound, allowing her to sneak up behind the nearest guard. She hid behind a dumpster, suddenly becoming laser focused on her goal, no longer worrying about what could go wrong.

She didn't want to hurt him, but she knew what she was about to do definitely wouldn't be comfortable for him. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled a rag that she had already doused with chloroform before she had come. She hesitated for only a few seconds before jumping up, latching onto his back with her legs and arms, shoving the rag against his face. Unlike the movies would have one believe, it actually took over a minute for chloroform to actually take affect, not a few seconds. His muffled screams didn't travel far, she made sure of that. He tried to wrestle her off of him, but she was determined, and refused to be thrown off.

He eventually passed out, and she carefully set him up against the edge of the building. She followed the same procedure with the other two guards, giving her free roam of the museum, at least until the alarms alerted the authorities. Cracking her knuckles, she glanced down at the security badge in her hand that she had snagged from the last guard, praying to whatever god there might be that it would work the way she wanted. She swiped it against the scanner, and a little green light lit up as she heard the front doors unlock.

Her heart leaped with joy, and she didn't hesitate to push the doors open, waiting at the entrance for a moment to listen for any alarms. When she didn't hear any, she grinned from ear to ear, fully stepping inside and looking around in amazement. She had never been to New York City, much less the infamous museum of Natural History. The first thing she noticed was the enormous mammoth skeleton, and it wasn't until this moment that she realized just how big those ancient beasts truly were. For a moment she found herself mentally back thousands of years, standing before one, the largest mammal to ever walk the earth.

As awestruck as she was, she reminded herself she had a job to do, and was not here to sight see. Shaking her head, she turned and started down a nearby hallway, mentally mapping out the building so she wouldn't get lost and would be able to retrace her steps. She had no idea where she was headed, all she knew is Karai told her it would be in the Egyptian section, she just had to find it.

When she finally stumbled upon the Egyptian section, she started to scan for the sapphire necklace, not seeing it at first, but then her eyes fell upon a statue of Cleopatra, the necklace resting against her chest. Gulping, Sarah slowly began to move forward, making a mental note to take a vacation for a few weeks after this. She was only a few feet away from the statue when an unfamiliar voice echoed throughout the room.

"I wouldn't get any closer, if I were you."

The redhead froze in place, trying to figure out how one of the guards woke up so damn soon. She had forgotten about the vigilantes that Karai had warned her about, and that's when it hit her that the guards were likely still unconscious outside. Mentally cursing herself, she turned around, ready to just charge and attack, but what she saw completely threw her off guard.

There were four of them, alright, but none of them seemed human. They had green skin, shells, two toes, and three fingers. She didn't get a chance to look any closer before the one with a blue bandanna stepped forward, speaking to her. "We know you're the reason those guards are unconscious outside. Whatever you had planned, ends now." He seemed so serious, so determined and sure that his words were correct, and Sarah couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh really?" She challenged. "I'm assuming you're going to try and stop me then?"

She didn't give him time to reply before she flung herself forward, going completely against Karai's advice about not engaging them in combat. She jumped up, kicking at the same time so the back of her heel collided with the side of his shell. He stumbled slightly, but she was sure it hurt her worse than him, because now her entire foot was aching like it never had. She grunted as she stepped down, but refused to show she had injured herself. Little did she know, all she did was piss him off.

She heard a growl come from him, and it was at that moment she reminded herself they were something other than human, and maybe Karai had meant it when she said not to try and fight them. In the blink of an eye, they moved at lightening speed, surrounding her all at once. Two of them grabbed her arms, holding her in place, the one with the orange bandanna then grabbed her legs just as she was about to start kicking.

"Let me go!" She spat, trying to flail out of their grips, but they were infinitely stronger than herself. The one that had originally spoke to her stepped forward, a nasty scowl on his face as he reached his green fingers towards her. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the blow, a blow that never came. Instead, she felt her mask be pulled off, revealing her messy red hair, pale skin, and freckles. Pausing, she opened her eyes, looking up to the turtle man, green eyes wide with surprise. He seemed just as confused as she was, both of them simply staring at each other.

He opened his mouth, about to say something, but then red and blue lights started to show from a nearby window, along with the sound of police sirens. All five of them stopped immediately, now on full alert, and Sarah knew that this was her chance. With all her strength, she flung her body to the right, their grips having loosened just enough for her to get away. She didn't look back to see if they were following her, but she heard their voices from behind her as she dove for the exit.

"Leo, she's gettin' away!"

"Don't worry about her, we need to get out of here!"

She didn't hear the last bit of what he said, as he watched her disappear out the side door.

"I'm going to find her later. She's not going to get away with this."


	4. Chapter 3

_"Well i'm your bad seed rising_  
_Ain't no use denying, this girl ain't a good girl no more_  
_Bad seed rising, ain't no use criying_  
_I still wear a halo my lord.."_

_-Bad Seed Rising_

* * *

"You didn't fucking tell me they were _turtles!_"

Sarah was absolutely furious. She had been sent on a mission to steal a necklace, not play exterminator to four reptile looking creatures. "You told me to catch them off guard and distract them?" She added into the phone, her blood pumping with rage. "Bitch, I was the one who was caught off guard and distracted!"

"Well, if I had told you ahead of time, would you have believed me?"

The redhead simply sat there for a moment, realizing that Karai was right. Had she told Sarah beforehand that they were walking, talking, crime fighting turtles, she would have never believed her. She would have just assumed she was insane.

"No matter, you failed. Our business ends here."

_Click. _

Sarah threw the motel phone across the room, feeling only a slight glimpse of satisfaction when the screws and plastic went flying in different directions. There she stood, eyes closed, hands gripping fist fulls of her red hair as she tried to calm the swirling heat in her stomach and chest that threatened to send her on a rampage of destruction. She had never failed before. At first Sarah's rage was focused on Karai, for not warning her, for letting her walk right in to her ultimate failure, but then it started to shift focus, and she knew who she should truly be mad at.

Those turtles.

She suddenly became dangerously calm, redirecting her energy to think of a plan. She knew absolutely nothing about them, and she refused to contact Karai for more information. All she knew is they had somehow noticed the guards were unconscious, but there was absolutely no way they could have just been walking around outside, they would have been spotted by someone.

She started getting ready to take a shower, to try and clear her head and try to think this through. Subconsciously she knew going after these guys was nothing but a terrible idea, but she was very impulsive in nature, and tended to disregard danger when she was focused on an end goal. She wasn't even sure what she would do when she found them. She wouldn't kill them, and she wouldn't be able to fight them.

Throughout the shower, she decided she would just figure it out when the time came. Lazily throwing on a simple white v-neck and some jeans, she glanced in the mirror, gazing over her round, baby-like face. She absolutely hated the way she looked. She was nineteen and looked like she was fourteen because of her round eyes, round face, and faint freckles splashed all along her nose and cheeks. When first meeting her, people didn't really take her seriously. That's one reason she enjoyed being Viper, she would hide her appearance, and people would take her seriously for what she was.

Her mind pulled back the memory from the night before of the turtle that had removed her mask, the look of shock and confusion on her face. There was no doubt in her mind that he assumed she was a child, especially considering she was only 5'3. Cursing under her breath, she pulled up her boots, trying to come up with a plan on how she would find them to begin with.

As she left the motel, she lit up a menthol cigarette, a habit she saved only for when she was truly stressed. Walking down the busy sidewalk, she glanced into mirrors of the shops she passed. She wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, but she was laser focused, that was until her stomach started turning and she found herself reminded that smoking on an empty stomach always leads to an upset stomach.

She tried to mentally trace back to the last time she ate, and realized it had been the morning before. She had been so distracted by everything going on and with what happened last night, she had forgotten to eat. Groaning, she entered the nearest diner she could find, rubbing her eyes as she plopped down at the bar.

"Coffee?"

Sarah glanced up at the man speaking to her from behind the counter. He was on the bigger side, wearing white chef's clothing with a white hat. She quickly nodded, eyes drifting to the menu on the wall behind him. "Please," she said, "heavy on the cream, light on the sugar."

"You got it."

Rubbing the back of her neck, she glanced over the different menu items, deciding on some chilli cheese fries. She was about to announce her order, when the waiter began speaking with another customer.

"I'm telling you, George. I saw him, just a few months ago. Some of them crazy looking monsters was in here, and to make it worse he came in here trying to rob me!"

"Rob you?" The customer began, an older man in a thick, green jacket, scratching at his badly trimmed beard. "That don't sound right. Ain't he come vigilante? Why would he rob you?"

"I don't know," the waiter said with a shrug as he was stirring Sarah's coffee, setting it in front of her while his attention remained focused on his conversation. "He just picked up my register and tried to take off with it! I'm telling you man, it's not good that he's back. That guy is bad news. And he had that bulky suit set up so he had three fingers. It was like something out of a sci-fi horror movie or game. He kind of reminded me of Isaac from Dead Space."

Three fingers. Sarah's interest in the conversation suddenly perked, because she happened to know of four creatures with three fingers. "Sir," she said in the sweetest voice she could muster. "Who are you referring to? I'm new to town, staying for a couple of weeks." She took a sip of her coffee, trying to sound curious, but not too interested.

"The Nightwatcher. Some vigilante wannabe, always causing trouble," he answered. "He was gone for a few months, but there's rumors he's back. The police refuse to make any reports on it and won't let the news stations mention it. They don't want the public knowing about it."

"Hmm," Sarah murmured to herself, green eyes staring down into her coffee. "Vigilante, eh?" She looked up, deciding to change the subject.

"Can I get some chili cheese fries?"

After her meal, she left the diner, noticing it was starting to get dark outside. Shaking her head, she slipped her hands into her pockets, making her way back to the motel, which was about a half an hour of a walk away. This Nightwatcher character sounded like a close fit, but why was there only one? She saw four turtles last night, not one. She was raking her thoughts, trying to figure it out when something caught her attention.

Glancing to the right, she caught sight of a woman backed into a corner of an alley way by three men, clutching her purse, crying out for help. Yet no one on the sidewalk even turned to look down the alleyway. Sarah felt disgusted at everyone's lack of concern, and the fact they didn't mind letting someone get attacked, regardless if that was the normal thing to go on in this city.

"Stop your screaming before I make it to where you can't ever scream again," one of them snapped, his fist clenching up at his side as he took a step towards the cowering blonde woman. Having enough, Sarah pulled her hands from her pockets, popping her knuckles to loosen them up as she started down the alley way.

"You fellas should probably be picking on someone who can defend themself," she taunted, her tone dripping with malice. Yes, she was a thief, but a thief with morals. She would steal from someone, but never hurt or pick on an innocent person. All three of them turned to look at her, shock on their face, followed by cackles of amusement.

"You might want to run home little girl, this is grown up business."

Narrowing her eyes, Sarah felt herself grow dangerously calm. "Alright, then let's do this like adults since you don't feel like talking."

She didn't give any of them time to say anything else before stepping forward, grabbing the closest man to her by the wrist, using all of her strength to yank him to the side, sending him tumbling into the brick wall to the right. That caught their attention, and she took that chance to glance at the other woman, nodding for her to run. The lady did so without hesitation, glancing back once at the redhead, before exiting the alleyway without another word.

The man who she had flung was already getting back up, and the other two were advancing on her. Shifting her stance so she was more stabilized, she simply waited, smirking to herself as they all tried to grab her at the same time. Unlike last night, she was prepared, and at last second dove down between their legs, rolling forward in a quick motion. Looking behind her, she watched as they stumbled into each other, seemingly confused on where she went and how she did what she did.

Not giving them time to regroup, she rose to her feet, spinning her body and giving one of them a roundhouse kick, her heel colliding with the side of his head, instantly knocking him unconscious. The other two dove for her once again, and she jumped back, calculating her next move. Brows furrowed, she swung her fist forward, right into the first man's nose, sending him stumbling backwards, grabbing his now bloodied face.

The second guy seemed to have lost his patience, reaching for her at lightening speed, grabbing her arm and trying to yank her forward. Instead of fighting it, she let him pull at her, and she used his own force against him to fling herself upward, hoisting herself up onto his shoulders, her legs instantly wrapping around his neck. She squeezed him with her thighs, trying to cut off his air supply to knock him out.

He was fighting against her, and she held on by gripping fist fulls of his hair, and it reminded her almost of riding a wild horse when she was younger. She didn't even notice the one she had punched had gotten back up, not until she felt an intense burning in her right side as he slashed a knife deep into her skin. Letting out a cry, she shoved herself off the man, stumbling backwards, hand flying to her bleeding side.

The pain was so intense that it hurt to breathe, causing her to gasp out for a minute, a lump forming in her throat. She fell to her knees, mouth ajar as she tried to get a breath in. The two man started to chuckle, advancing on her as she doubled over, glancing down at her shaky hands that were now covered in blood. Her vision started to blur, and she felt herself tumble onto her injured side, a cough escaping her throat before she felt herself fade into unconsciousness.

**A/N: Hey guys, leave me a review and let me know what you think! 3**


	5. Chapter 4

"_Sarah, wake up!"_

_The six year old girl was awoken by the sound of her older brother's voice, nothing more than a harsh whisper as he violently shook her. Her green eyes fluttered open, and she rose to a sitting position. _

"_What's wrong?" She asked, confused about why he was waking her at such a time in the night. _

"_Something's wrong, we need to hide."_

_It was at that moment that she noticed him starting to drift further away, everything around her growing dark. "Andrew!" She screamed, feeling her tiny hands start to shake as she reached out into the darkness for him just as a loud gunshot sounded from all around her. _

Jolting awake, Sarah felt herself gasping for air as she sat up. Before she could comprehend it was only a dream, She felt pain shoot through her right side, causing her to cry out, glancing down to find the cause. Pulling up her bloodied shirt slightly, she gazed at the large gash, now neatly stitched together, and properly cleaned. She was confused for a moment, then recalled what happened before she fell unconscious.

But how did it get stitched up? It wasn't until then that she decided to look at her surroundings, and try to figure out where she was and what had happened. The first thing she noticed was a couple of arcade machines, taking her back almost ten years. Tilting her head, she then noticed she was on a worn down couch, with a thin hospital style blanket over her legs.

"How do you feel?"

The redhead almost jumped ten feet in the air as an unfamiliar voice chimed up from behind her. Spinning her head around, her gaze fell on green skin, and a purple mask. He was just standing there, coffee mug in hand and a concerned look on his face, waiting for her answer.

"Where the hell am I?" She snapped, realizing this was the _last _creature she wanted to deal with right now. She swung her legs off the couch, rising to her feet, when a wave of vertigo hit her. She squeezed her eyes shut, groaning to herself as she grabbed for the edge of the couch to steady herself. In the blink of an eye, the turtle was at her side, gently lowering her back down to a sitting position.

"Careful, you lost a lot of blood," he warned. "And since you refused to go to the hospital, there's no way to do a blood transfusion. You'll need to relax for a while and let your body adjust its self." Sarah was quiet for a moment, waiting for the spinning to cease before she dared to peak an eye open to gaze at him.

The first thing she noticed was his dark chocolate brown eyes, with little flecks of gold throughout them, still holding that concerned look, as if she were an injured puppy trying to chase its tail too soon. He was way too close for comfort, only about one foot away from her face, and out of instinct she reached forward, shoving his face back with the palm of her hand.

"Personal space, man," she said, still confused about what was going on. "And what do you mean I refused to go to the hospital?"

Straightening himself up and giving her a halfhearted glare for being shoved away as abruptly as he was, the turtle explained. "You had a huge gash in your side, and we were about to call an ambulance, when you mumbled something about 'no hospitals' then went out before I could ask what you meant. So, we brought you here, and I patched you up as best I could. Now I'll ask you again," he continued, sounding just slightly impatient this time. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," she lied, forcing herself to ignore the aching in her side. "Who the hell is we?"

Earning a sigh from the purple clad turtle, he simply shook his head at her question, turning and walking away. "I'll let Leo explain that."

Leo. She remembered that name from the other night when the turtles had cornered her at the museum, and as if right on cue, she heard someone clear their throat to her side. Glancing in the direction that it came from, her eyes fell upon that same blue masked turtle that had removed her mask that night, the one she assumed was called Leo. He was looking at her with such fierceness, she couldn't help but shrink down slightly.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," he said, his voice hiding any and all emotion.

"Leo, I told you to give her time before you start hounding her. She's hurt, and regardless of what she says I know she feels crappy." This came from the purple masked turtle again. Although the words themselves were demanding, his tone was simply pleading, as if asking Leo to just listen to him.

"I know," Leo replied, never taking his eyes off of her as he stepped forward. "But there's a few questions I need to get out of the way before she stays here any longer."

"Yeah, for starters," a third voice chimed in, laced with a heavy Brooklyn accent, "how does she go from trying to steal some shit from a museum to rescuing some girl in an alley?" Sarah's gaze now fell to the owner of this voice, noticing the third turtle, with a red mask, and blazing, golden eyes, more fierce than any she had ever seen before. His arms were crossed, and he was leaning against a nearby wall, simply glaring daggers at her. Again, she felt that unfamiliar feeling of wanting to shrink back and wanting to turn invisible.

She wanted to answer, but her head felt like it was being split open with an ice pick. She squeezed her eyes shut, groaning as she pressed her palm to her head. "I'm wondering the same thing," Leo said, crossing his own arms. She simply sat there for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts and trying to push the pain away.

"You act like someone can't steal stuff and help someone," she grumbled. "I'm a thief, not a piece of shit who hurts people." She started to rub her eyes, annoyed at all the questions when she had just come back to consciousness.

"Stealing is wrong," Leo replied in a snippy tone. "Even if you aren't physically hurting anyone."

"Dudes, can I come out yet?" This was a new voice, reminding Sarah of a stereotypical surfer guy. Daring to open her eyes, she saw the fourth turtle, the one with the orange mask, emerging from a hallway with a confused look on his face. Groaning, Leo started to rub the bridge of his nose, realizing this was going no where.

"You think I don't know that?" she snapped, ignoring the newcomer in the room. "You think I don't know it's wrong? It's all I've known, for years. I've been doing it so long that I have no choice. Not like you'd understand." She muttered the last part, realizing she wanted nothing more than to get out of here. Before, she wanted revenge, and now she just wanted to get away from the lecture.

"What do you mean it's all you've known?" Leo said, becoming impatient. "You don't have to steal, you choose to. Don't try to act like you have no choice."

"Don't act like you understand!" She said, tone rising. "You don't know anything about my life!"

"Then enlighten me" the turtle said through grit teeth, trying to fight the anger rising inside himself.

"Leonardo!" A fifth voice chimed in, and Sarah mentally cursed to herself about how many turtles there had to be. "You should know better than anyone that one shouldn't pry into someone else's past!"

Groaning, Sarah turned, preparing to see another turtle, but instead felt her heart stop when she saw instead, a large, brown rat. She stared at him, wide eyed, feeling her head starting to spin before once again, everything went black.


	6. Chapter 5

When Master Splinter's voice sounded through the room, everyone turned to look at Sarah, waiting for her reaction. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, watching as her eyes rolled back and she fell back onto her side, head hitting the pillow.

"You sure know how to knock em' dead, Sensei," Michelangelo cackled, having to hold back a fit of laughter. The reaction wasn't surprising, considering that's exactly how April reacted when she met Master Splinter. "Have you dudes noticed we tend to attract redheads?" He joked again, grinning to his brothers, hoping to add some humor to a troubling situation.

"Shut it, Mikey," Raphael snapped, still unsure of how he felt about everything going on. Here she was, the thief they had just stopped the night before, laying on their couch unconscious from a mix of blood loss and seeing their father. What troubled him most, was that she had helped that woman earlier in the night. She was a criminal, and it wasn't like criminals to get involved in another criminals business. His amber eyes drifted over to his elder brother, noticing the unreadable gaze he had fixed on the girl.

He simply hoped this wouldn't be a repeat of the Karai situation. That devil of a woman had convinced Leonardo that she had a good side, and he had almost lost himself trying to direct her to the path of righteousness. In the end, she betrayed him, and simply took advantage of him to weaken him. Her motives were simply to avenge her father, of course, and Raphael tried to calm his own nerves, reminding himself that this girl had no reason to hate them.

Aside from the fact that they had stopped her mid heist.

Grumbling to himself, Raphael shook his head, waving his hand. "Great, now what?" He said, stepping away from the wall. "She's unconscious again, and God only knows how she's going to react when we wakes up. As if her seeing us the other night wasn't bad, we have her in our _home."_

Donatello glanced towards his hot headed brother, looking a bit uneasy. "She was dying," Donatello reminded, trying to sound gentle, as not to set him off anymore than he already was. "She said she didn't want to go to a hospital-" He didn't even get to finish what he was saying before Raphael went into another fit.

"Who gives a shit what she wants!" He bellowed, throwing his hands up, as if what he was saying was obvious; and to him, it was. "She's a damn thief! She saved someone, so what? We do that every night yet they still wouldn't hesitate to put us down if they got a chance! What makes her so damn special, huh?" He was seething, wanting nothing more than to toss the girl out of the nearest manhole he could find. She had no right to be here, she had absolutely no right to be putting his family in jeopardy.

"Raphael!" This time, it was Leonardo, his brown gaze harsh yet collected. "That's enough! She risked her life for that woman, she wouldn't have done that if she was nothing more than a thief. You need to go cool off, _now_."

The red clad turtle sent a glare his way, but knew better than to argue, especially in the presence of their father. Huffing, he turned leaving the room to head to the training dojo, no doubt to blow off some steam.

"Leonardo," Master Splinter began calmly, setting a gentle paw on his sons arm. "Your brother is only worried for his family. Try not to be so harsh on him, it is understandable what he is feeling. It was not a good idea to bring her here, but given the circumstances I respect your decision. I will return to my mediation, please come get me once she is awake once more and prepared to see me."

Leonardo always envied how understanding his father could be, wishing he could posses such patience, especally with having brothers like Michelangelo and Raphael. "Yes father," he replied softly turning his attention back to Donatello once their father started to leave the room.

"How long until she's well enough to leave?"

Donatello started to rub the back of his neck, racking his brain for different possibilities. "It depends," he began, "It could be a couple days, or a little over a week. It depends on her immune system, if she gets an infection, and if she rests and stayed hydrated and nourished. What's your plan for when she's healed?" He asked, daring to meet the leader's eyes. "I can't imagine you'll just toss her back onto the street?"

"No," Leonardo replied, staring down at the girl with his arms crossed. "I'll figure it out. I want to talk to her first before I make any official decisions. I have a few ideas, but it all depends on a few things." It was obvious he wasn't going to go into anymore detail, so Michelangelo decided to finally chime in.

"Yo, Don, you said she needs to eat and stuff? We could ask April to bring by some pizza!" He said this with a hopeful tone, and the way his baby blue eyes glowed caused the other two brothers to chuckle, the tension in the room easing.

"Mikey, don't pretend like you're worried about her eating. But yes, I'll call April and ask her to bring some pizza by. Maybe if we get another human woman here, she'll fill more comfortable when she wakes up again." He rose from his crouched position by the couch, drifting off to the kitchen where the phone was hanging against the wall.

"Whatcha thinkin' there, Leo?" Mikey asked, plopping down into the recliner, picking up a nearby comic book he had left laying around from earlier. He opened it, but his gaze remained fixated on his brother. Leonardo continued to stare at the girl, a puzzled expression on his face.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I'm having a lot of thoughts. I guess I'm curious about why someone with such a sense of right and wrong, who would risk her life to save a stranger, would be stealing something valuable from a museum. I want to know why she steals, why she was trying to steal that necklace. I want to know who she is, I want to know if she's told anyone about us."

_I want to know if she really has no choice._

"Hmm, just ask her when she wakes up dude," Michelangelo stated, reverting his eyes back to his comic book."

Leonardo glanced towards him, knowing he was right, that all he could do was wait, and that fretting over it wouldn't fix anything. "Leo," a voice called from across the room, and the turtle looked over to see Donatello, gesturing for him to come into his lab. He gave a curt nod of acknowledgement before starting his way.

"I was actually on my way to come tell you when she woke up," Donatello started as Leonardo entered the lab, shutting the sliding door behind him for some privacy. Donatello was at his laptop, typing a bit before spinning it around, showing a few news articles he had put together.

"I did some research earlier," he began as Leonardo began to scan over the headlines. "There's this notorious thief, goes by the name Viper, and it sounds a lot like our girl. Steals high glass items, and she's never been caught. Only a few had actually seen her, but no one knows what she really looks like. If we hadn't spotted those unconscious guards and stepped in when we did, she would've gotten away with that one, too," he finished, deciding to let his brother make out of this what he wanted.

Leonardo glanced at him with a troubled look, feeling his head spin slightly, but also a slight wave of a relief. "This is good," he finally stated, getting a confused look from his brother. "We have leverage. She doesn't say anything about us, and we don't reveal her identity." He rose to his feet, thoughts still swimming. "Although that explains why she didn't want to go to the hospital. She's probably too cautious of her identity."

Donatello seemed to visibly relax, realizing his brother wasn't going to blow this out of proportion. "And Donnie," Leonardo began, brown eyes growing serious. "Don't tell Raph or Mikey what you just told me."

**A/N: Wooo! An all turtles chapter, I think I had the most fun writing this one out of all of them. I'm excited for them to actually interact with Sarah so you guys can see the depths to her personality. Please leave me a review and let me know what you guys think!**


	7. Chapter 6

"_Sarah?"_

_A soft giggle came from nearby cupboard, the five year old girl covering her mouth to try to keep quiet. Her older brother, Andrew, was looking for her. They were playing her favorite game, hide and seek, and she always gave herself away by laughing when he was near. She knew that once again, she just gave herself away. Before she could prepare herself, the cupboard door swung open, revealing a grinning blond boy, blue eyes dancing with mischief. _

"_Gotcha."_

_He pulled her out, immediately tickling her, her screams of joy ringing through their small home. She rolled around with him, trying to get away, but he held on tight keeping her in place. Everything around her seemed to have a warm glow, and in that moment, she wished things could stay this way forever. _

Sarah stirred in her sleep, feeling herself slowly start to come back to consciousness. The memory that she had just dreamed filled her with a warmth she hadn't felt in ages, and also grief. She missed her brother more than anything in the world, but she knew she would never see him again. Her green eyes fluttered open, and she started glancing around to see where she was, trying to ignore the aching in her chest.

She was no longer in that living room area she had been in earlier, and she started to wonder if maybe she had simply dreamed she was rescued by those turtles. She sat up, rubbing her aching head, before getting a better look around. She was in a dark room, laying on a bed she had never been in. Even with the lack of light, she could make out that the walls were lined with shelves full of action figures, and she had to squint to make out the stack of nearby comics. It was as if she were in some stereotypical teenage boys room.

Moving the blanket off of herself, she decided to try and get up, and figure out exactly where she was and what was going on. Again, that sharp, burning pain ached in her side, a reminder that she was still gravely injured. Pulling her shirt up, she gazed down at the neat stitching job, her mouth falling open.

_So it wasn't a dream. _

Becoming more focused, she reached for the door, pausing as she heard a few voices from outside the room, seemingly far away. She had to put her ear to the crack in the door to even make out what was being said.

"So why'd you guys decide to bring her here? Isn't that dangerous considering she's already a criminal?" This time, it was a female's voice, one she didn't recognize.

"Because Leo's an idiot," the one she remembered having the red mask replied. "He thinks he can save anyone who does one good thing! How well did that go with-"

"Shut it, Raph!" This time it was Leo to speak, and she finally had a name for the one with the red mask. "I just want to talk to her before we condemn her. She said she had no choice but to steal, if that's true, maybe we can help her."

"Oh, and how's that?" Raph sneered. "Open our home to a stranger, give her a chance to sell us out? Nah, I'm good. You can play knight in shinning armor all you want. I see through that shit."

There was silence for a moment, before the woman spoke again. "Where is she?" She asked.

"Asleep in Mikey's room. Although I wouldn't be surprised if she's awake now after all of Raph's yelling."

Sarah paused, figuring maybe it was a good time to make herself known, because the more she heard Raph running his mouth about her, the angrier she would become. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door, stepping out into a hallway of sorts, glancing to the left and seeing a stairwell. She made her way to the stairs, shutting the door behind her quietly. Once she started her decent, she could see everyone in the living room she had been in earlier. The one with the orange mask, who she thought might be the one called Mikey, was still curled up on the recliner, a different comic book in his hands this time.

Leo was standing to the side, arms crossed, seeming to be thinking hard about something. She could make out the back of a woman sitting on the couch, who also happened to have red hair, just not as dark as her own, and instead of having thick curls and waves like her own, it seemed relatively straight and tame. She tried to look for Raph, or the one with the purple mask who's name she still didn't know, but they were no where to be seen.

"Yo, she's up!"

The words came from Michelangelo, and suddenly all three of them turned to gaze at her, and she felt the back of her neck heat up. It was one thing being stared at when she was behind her mask as Viper, it was another being stared at as Sarah.

"Uh.. how long was I out?" She asked, trying to ease the growing tension in the room, not wanting them to know she had heard their conversation about her. They glanced between each other for a moment, and Leonardo was the one to speak up.

"A little over an hour," he said, pausing as he looked up at her, now seemingly uncomfortable. "How do you feel?"

She put some thought into that for a moment. How did she feel? Confused, dazed, hungry, tired, thirsty. "Well, my side hurts a bit, but I'm not surprised," she found herself saying before she realized it. "I'm still tired, but I'm thirsty."

"We got some sodas in the fridge," Michelangelo offered excitedly, rising from the recliner. He was always excited to meet new people, to make new friends. Especially when they were cute girls- criminal or not.

"No Mikey," Leonardo correctly softly. "Donnie said to only give her water. Her blood count is still really low, he said if we give her anything else it might shoot her blood sugar way too high."

"Ah- right. Water it is then."

The orange masked turtle disappeared into what she assumed to be the kitchen area due to the dining table, counters and fridge. Standing there with her hand rubbing her other arm, she felt more awkward than she had in a long time. What was she supposed to do, or say? Thank you? She was still slightly upset about them ruining her chance at stealing that necklace, but they saved her life without putting her through the misery of a hospital, so she supposed they were even.

"Do you want to sit down?" The woman asked, moving over on the couch to give Sarah plenty of room. Hesitating, she nodded, moving to sit on the other side of the woman. It was at that moment that the turtle with the purple mask entered the scene from a sliding door, eyes wide when he saw Sarah standing in the living room.

"I'm April," she began carefully as Michelangelo reappeared in the room, handing her the glass of water. "I'm a friend of the turtles. They told me a bit about what happened, and about you saving that woman." Sarah brought the glass to her lips as the woman continued to speak. "That was brave, not many people would do that, especially in this city. But I'm assuming you aren't from around here, I'm detecting a hint of a southern accent?"

Sarah paused, feeling a bit confused on the accent comment. She had never noticed an accent, but she supposed it was due to her being used to how she talked. "It's very faint, but it's there. Where are you from?" April continued, gently trying to nudge some personal information out of the stranger. Scoffing, Sarah set the now almost empty glass down on the coffee table in front of them.

"You think buttering me up with comments will get me to spill all my personal information?" She challenged. "I didn't do anything special. She was in trouble, and I know exactly how men like that are. They wouldn't have just stopped with taking her purse. The fact no one stopped to help, when she could _clearly_ be heard from the sidewalk, pissed me off. I may be a thief, but I don't hurt people unless they're trying to hurt me or someone else. So don't praise me for doing what someone should've been doing regardless."

There was silence, and she could see all four of them glancing between each other. Sarah knew she was being a bit harsh, but she hated getting praised for simple tasks. The way she saw it, she did nothing special. That woman probably contributed something to society, even if it was just a nine to five job. Sarah was a simple thief, bringing nothing to society but insurance claims for stolen goods. Out of the two of them, she knew which life mattered more.

"Georgia," She said randomly, breaking the silence. They all look confused, but realization dawned on April, and she smiled softly.

"Georgia, huh? I have a cousin from there. I visited a couple times. What's your name sweetie? You never told us. I know you're secretive, so I just want to know what to call you. I don't need a last name." Sarah debated it, she truly did. She could give them a fake name, but she didn't see the point. They were turtle creatures that hid from the world, and if this woman could keep _that _a secret, her name probably would stay secret as well.

"Sarah."

Again, awkward silence as they all looked at each other, but Leonardo decided it was time for him to ask a couple questions, since she seemed to be in the mood to be open. "What were you doing in the museum?" He asked. "I know you were trying to steal that necklace, but why?"

Sarah picked up the glass again, swirling the leftover water around at the bottom. "I'm not some low grade thief," she admitted. "Sure I steal personal items for myself from time to time, but most of the time someone is paying me to steal something for them. Someone called me when I was in Nevada, asked me to come here. I did, and she wanted me to take the necklace. I don't ask questions. When I told her I failed, she said our business was done, and that was that."

"Who was it?"

The question from Leonardo was a little too quick and assertive for her liking, and she decided she was done giving away information. "I don't out my clients, sorry. I don't know anything about any of you, yet your demanding all this information." Sighing, Leonardo knew she had a point, and knew she had no reason to trust them if they acted like they couldn't trust her.

"I'm Leonardo, call me Leo," he began. "April already introduced herself. That's Michelangelo, he goes by Mikey. Donatello is the one over there with the purple mask, call him Donnie." He paused, sighing before he continued the next bit. "Raphael, or Raph, he's the grumpy one with the red mask you met earlier. He's not exactly friendly."

Sarah felt like she had heard these names before, but she couldn't pinpoint where. Brushing the feeling off, she glanced Michelangelo's way when he chimed in. "You hungry?" He asked. "April brought pizza!" It wasn't until that moment that Sarah felt her stomach rumble, and she knew she definitely needed to eat.

"Is there any cheese?"

**A/N: Alright how do you guys feel about the story so far? Let me know in the comments! I need a beta reader (someone to review my chapters before I post them.) If you're interested please PM me! **


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